


An Imperial Endeavor

by VividDayDreamer



Category: Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: "The Ghost" is a nickname for a secret Imperial Naval Unit, Also starts to creep into that almost mother/daughter relationship that I also can't get away from, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Don’t copy to another site, Ensign Wren has attitude and problems with authority, Gen, Hera as an Imperial Pilot, Hera hates greenies, Hera sides with the Empire willingly, My tags are ridiculous, Punishment, Sabine's got baggage and issues, and I can't seem to get away from that theme, but lays down the law, failure - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-10-19 02:39:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17593058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VividDayDreamer/pseuds/VividDayDreamer
Summary: Hera had left her commanding officer's office, with a smile on her face.  Through her valiant and dedicated service to the Empire, she had been promoted to Senior Lieutenant Hera Syndulla of the Imperial Navy."Fancy title," she thought to herself.  "But not fancy enough."





	1. Chapter 1

Hera had left her commanding officer's office, with a smile on her face. Through her valiant and dedicated service to the Empire, she had been promoted to Senior Lieutenant Hera Syndulla of the Imperial Navy. 

"Fancy title," she thought to herself. "But not fancy enough."

She wanted to fly, for as long as she could remember, but it wasn't until a rebel insurgency on Ryloth had taken matters into their own hands and destroyed their family's home, that she found her calling. These unskilled, yet dangerous extremists had blamed her father for his lack of leadership to eliminate the prescence of the Empire on their homeworld. To her, the Empire had done nothing that she didn't feel was needed. They were there to help bring order, continuing the work that the Republic had been doing there, nothing more. Her father had originally worked with Republic forces to free Ryloth from the Separatists, and they did. To her, these forces were just soldiers that helped her people. Changing the name from the Republic to the Empire signified nothing, it was just another way to denote a change in those that governed it. Overall, Hera was fine with the Empire. It was these rebels, that weren't.

There had been a cluster of so called fighters that believed that the Empire was no good. They had fallen victim to the violence bestowed upon them by the Imperial soldiers while on Ryloth and they fought back. People died and homes burned. Sure, if you had heard that story, one would've thought the same, but, that was only one side of the story, and it was very one-sided. Hera knew better. She knew because she had overheard the stories in her father's war room, many times over. This subset of Twi'leks had wanted to form a governing power of their own, that wanted far more aggressive laws, supposedly under the premise that it would "bring about a safer and more unified community". However, their methods of enforcing such rule was not one that her father accepted. He felt that this rebel cluster was posing a ruse, to mask their ultimate motives of greed and power.

When the Republic forces had purged the presence of the Separatists on their planet, they remained there, to help the people rebuild. It had just happened that in the midst of this, the battles that resulted in the political shift of powers, had resulted in changing the overall governing body to be called the Galactic Empire. These were still the same men and women from before, just working under a new government, under a new name. They had continued their business on Ryloth as usual, but as they started to "clean up" the insurgency on the planet, they started stepping on the toes of these radicals.

These conflicts resulted in that one-sided story. Yes, some fell victim to the violence, but it was violence that was mainly caused by the actions of these Twi'lek forces. Their news of people dying were not unfelt. General Cham Syndulla only wanted the best for his people, but it was unfortunate that this faction seemed to be hindering progress, causing needless death because of their own stubbornness and greed. He continued to focus on rebuilding that which had been destroyed, and working with other leaders to come up with solutions. With too much on his hands, he felt it best to let the Empire handle "cleaning up" the threats to their plans. It was this mentality that resulted in the anger of the cluster's leaders and found him to be personally responsible for their troubles.

And, as the radicals that they were, they sought to resolve things through violence once more. They wanted to make Cham an example, and so, one unsuspecting morning, a group of fighters had been launched, bombing the Syndulla home, killing Cham and his leadership team in one fell swoop. Hera had been fortunate. At the time, she had been out on a flight run with a few of the other pilots, who where helping her learn different formations and tactics. When she had caught news of what happened, it was too late.

Her anger towards the radicals were immediate, but, was level headed. She always had been. It was not enough to kill those that had caused her pain. They needed to be silenced. All of them. This, she figured, would be the best for Ryloth and their people, and a way for their future, under Cham's vision, to move forward.

At the time, she was young. Very young. There wasn't much she could do that wouldn't necessarily endanger herself. What she did though, was assist the Imperial forces with knowledge of what she knew about these clusters. She gave them information that her father had on their computers, and gave them insider information regarding of what she knew personally about some of their leaders, most, from overhearing discussions in the past with her father. Her help eventually gave the officers enough information to come up with a strategic solution to finally get rid of these criminals. It took nearly half a year before the opposing forces had all but disappeared, but peace on the planet, had finally come.

Through their actions, Hera felt justice. Through the recommendations of the Imperial officers, Hera, received an offer to join their ranks. She had been given the opportunity to join the Naval Fleet, and through her studies and training, she had quickly made a name for herself. She was a fighter pilot. Best they'd seen in a while. In a number of missions that she had assisted with, she had come out strong, with her ruthless approach and skillful maneuvering, generally deciding the outcome of the assignment. She had been promoted in rank, time and time again, with her advisors and commanding officers guiding her to become one of the best minds for the Navy. However, Hera, had no intention of becoming an officer that sat idly by, commanding others. She wanted to fly. Her skills were best used if she was at the helm. It was this mentality that got her into a special unit of the Navy. It was one that handled special objectives that required people of her talents. 

This unit's goals were unlike others in the division. They were task oriented and generally, individually assigned. There was no need for squadrons, large crews, or the like. As it usually went, someone from the higher chain of command would notify the Grand General of the unit of a mission, who would then work with his team to assign select individuals, based on skill and need. This worked well for Hera. She didn't need to be bogged down by others, nor need to worry about some unskilled tag-along, that may botch up her assignments. Rarely, she had to work with a squadron, but that was typical, and no different than what she had been used to, prior to joining this unit.

The unit, Task Force 000, is a secretive task force that had several nicknames that it went by. Most of it, originating from catchy terms that its pilots had come up with. The two most popular ones were "Triple Zero" and "The Ghost". Hera, preferred the latter. The reasoning for the nickname, she later found out, was because of the nature of the assignments. They were to handle special missions that required all to remain hidden. They had masked ships, their records were deleted (though mainly were hidden as classified), and were generally never heard of, even within the Imperial Fleet itself. There were only a handful of individuals that knew of this unit, and they were usually high ranking individuals. This also reasoned why, for the most part, that the assignments relied upon the work of individuals, rather than a full on squadron. Given the importance of secrecy of Task Force 000, there was another important aspect that was critical to their missions. Leave no witnesses. 

Leaving no witnesses was the golden rule. Above everything else, even the success of the mission itself, was that you are to keep the name of the unit and yourself unknown at all costs. This was what kept the unit a general success. Everyone in the unit knew what that meant. You wipe away any traces of your involvement. You kill those that are unimportant to the mission, even if that meant killing other Imperials, unless ordered not to. There was also another caveat, however. Should you fail or feel trapped that you will become a liability to the unit, you are to terminate yourself accordingly, before the mission ends. As pilots, that usually meant the self-destruction of their ship, taking it and their own life along with it.

With the slogan, "To succeed and be left unnoticed. Leave no witnesses," Task Force 000 was a very elite unit. It was dangerous, in all aspects, but, being part of its missions, was thrilling. For pilots who lived on the edge, this was their calling. Here, Hera felt at home.

It had been nearly six years at "The Ghost", when she had finally gotten that promotion. She was thrilled to tack on another layer of color on her badge. It was another bump in her resume, and she wanted to have a lavish title one day, but, she was not in a rush. As she's always known, she loved to be the one with her hands on the controls.


	2. Chapter 2

"Lieutenant Syndulla, please report to the General Jetir's office," she heard from within the command center of Task Force 000's headquarters.

As she entered the room, she noticed General Jetir, head of Task Force 000, sitting at his desk, with someone else, sitting across from him.

"Lieutenant. Please, come join us," he said with his deep, commanding voice.

Hera did as asked and sat across from him, in a seat adjacent to the other person.

"Lieutenant, I am pleased to announce your next assignment."

A smirk came across the woman's face. She had been laying low for quite some time since her promotion, wondering when it would be before she was back in space.

"I am testing out a new initiative, one that I think would benefit this unit. As you know, it is Triple Zero's objective to complete our missions AND remain unknown at all costs. As I've studied a few of our failed missions, I realized that it was because when it came to collaboration among our pilots, there was some form of miscommunication or lack of understanding that caused these individuals to fail as a team."

Hera understood his concerns immediately. Though Task Force 000 included the best pilots of the entire naval fleet, they all brought along with them a sense of entitlement and arrogance. Traits that obviously caused headbutting when it came to making decisions and following orders. No one checked their egos at the door. This was the one pain point that the General was committed to resolving. As a unit that was only ten years in the making, he worked hard to solidify this group, and iron out all the mishaps that was preventing them from reaching a hundred percent success rate.

"Now, I realize that our missions generally revolve around individual assignments, so when it came to group assignments, things faltered. It made sense that a rag-tag set of pilots that weren't used to working together, would come to fail. This is where we will change things. Lieutenant Syndulla, given your skills, I would like to give you the opportunity to be the first one to lead in our 'Pod Division'."

"Pod Division sir?"

"Yes, Lieutenant. This new initiative will involve a set of 'pod units' that you can align best to dedicated mini squadrons. These 'pods' will include, at least for now, two individuals, with one being designated the leader. The pod unit will train together and run missions together. My hope is that through this, we can create a mutual bond between sets of pilots and generate a unified team that will work better together and increase our successes in completing group assignments. Of course, evaluation of each pairing will constantly be done throughout the program, to determine which sets work best together. You, Lieutenant will be the leader of our first pod."

"Sir, I think this is a great initiative, and I am flattered at the opportunity, but I think you may have more success by selecting someone who is better equipped to test drive such an important goal," Hera responded.

Once more, Hera was trying to pass off on the idea on working with others. It wasn't that she didn't like other people, she just didn't trust others to do well, not to mention, she didn't want to have to be responsible for someone else. She, like all other pilots in the unit, had a bit of pretentiousness to her personality.

"Lieutenant, I know this game well," he said with a stern and all-knowing tone. "I've seen it in all our other pilots. This is the very thing I am trying to resolve here. We NEED teamwork. If our failure rate is to decrease, we need to have pilots who are willing to work together on an objective, and not let their egos get the best of them. You are one of the best ranked pilots we have, and based on your profile, I feel that you ARE the better equiped leader to kickstart this initiative."

The General saw the look on Hera's face. That too, was one that he was accustomed to seeing. Disappointment mixed in with a bit of resentment at adhering to orders. It was the bane of having elite and overly talented individuals in the Imperial Navy.

"And so, for this, I am assigning you one of our newest recruits. One that has shown great promise and is a great candidate for this program. Being that she is still new here, it at least allows us to have her start without any of the bad habits you all seem to pick up after being here for quite some time. Lieutenant Syndulla, may I present Ensign Sabine Wren, recent graduate of the Academy."

Hera looked upon the girl with a bit of annoyance. Not only was she being forced to be permanently assigned with someone, but now, this someone was a fresh pilot. A child even.

"Sir, I mean no disrespect, but doesn't it make more sense to be teamed up with someone with a little bit more...experience?"

"Excuse me, Lieutenant," the girl said with a bit of attitude at Hera's quick dismissal. "I may be fresh out of the Academy, but I can pilot just as good, if not better, than others you've worked with."

Hera smirked at the girl's response. She knew nothing of the Ensign's abilities, but she did have the boldness and attitude that came with the territory. The General too, took a bit of pleasure at seeing the girl's abrupt and defensive statement. He knew there would be friction between any pilots he set up together, so this was not unexpected. At least, he gathered, with the girl being outranked in both title and experience, that it would make following orders a bit more acceptable.

"See, Lieutenant? Ensign Wren here is willing to prove to you that she's worth your time. Now, unless there are any other questions or concerns, I believe that you two should start to get acquainted with one another."

The General stood up, and the two pilots followed suit.

"I look forward to showing the Empire what I can do, sir!" Sabine said with affirmation and excitement as she saluted him.

Hera just shook her head and glared at the greenie, as he acknowledged her enthusiasm.

"Good. Now, meet up with my assistant, GG-5524. It will provide you with all the specifics of your assignment."

"Yes, sir!" the two saluted in unison, before heading out to meet the droid.

  


* * *

  
"Ah, Lieutenant Syndulla and Ensign Wren. I have the details of your assignment here," it said as it provided each of them with a datapad.

As they read through it, it went through all the specifics of the Pod Division's goals and requirements. It included scheduled training, personnel evalution sessions, their assigned ships, and other arrangements. As Hera's eyes scanned through the details, her eyes narrowed on a single entry.

"Wait. This says room assignment. I'm already assigned to cabin B-221," Hera commented to the droid.

"Yes, that is correct, Lieutenant, but, for the requirements of this assignment, General Jetir has decided that all pairings are to be assigned a shared cabin."

"A shared cabin?!" Hera questioned with exasperation.

"Yes, he felt that this will further enhance the experience and your attempts at getting to know one other."

Hera sighed in frustration.

"Hey, this definitely isn't my idea of fun either," the girl spoke, "but as long as you don't snore, we'll be good," the girl teased as she headed towards their cabin.

Hera shook her head in dismay. She wasn't going to like this at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure where I was going with this.
> 
> I was trying to get through a mental block when working with my other series. Storyline is currently half-baked. May or may not continue.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy February! 
> 
> Continuing on a bit with this until I tire of it, but will try to make sure not to leave it with questions or a cliffhanger for you guys. I know how frustrating that can get :p

"Hold on. Who says you get top bunk?" Hera questioned with authority.

"I do. You snooze, you lose, gramma," she said tauntingly as she lazed about on the bed.

"Excuse me?" Hera said with annoyance.

"You heard me."

"Alright, I've just had about enough of your attitude!" she said sternly.

"Ha! You sound like one too!" she chuckled, not paying any mind to the woman's irritation.

The girl sat up in the bunk and threw her legs over to the side and swayed it back and forth as she looked on with content at the Twi'lek's annoyance.

"Look, I think, we may have gotten along at first, but, since you were so quick to toss me away like some piece of trash, I think I know better now than to respect you. We'll just play this little game for the General until evaluations come along, which should then result in reassignment for the both of us, though, for you, Miss Senior Lieutenant, you might actually be punished for your failure as a senior officer. Hahaha," the girl laughed.

"Alright, I've had it with you," Hera said with full anger as she made her way towards the girl, grabbing at her leg and pulling her down harshly, causing her to nearly tumble to the ground.

"Hey! What the kriff! I could've twisted an ankle or..."

Before she could say anything else, Hera grabbed the girl by the collar and slammed her up against the wall.

"Listen here, you little brat. I'm in charge here. I rank higher than you and definitely have the General's full confidence that I succeed in every assignment that he's given to me. And as much as I hate this situation as much as you do, there is NO way that I am failing because of you and your damn insubordinance! Is that clear?!"

The girl's confidence shattered under the physical attack and threatening tone of her commanding officer. She had gotten away with her behavior many times before, because _she_ was usually the favorite, save for a few times that it hadn't worked and she was fully disciplined, but that never really stopped her before. It had just warned her of who not to cross. The Lieutenant, she realized, was one of those people. She wasn't at the Academy anymore. She had no rep here, no cred. She was a greenie, now being faced, eye to eye, with someone who bore the look like they would clearly bring all hell to those that crossed them.

"Yyyyes ma'am," she stuttered.

The Twi'lek took pleasure in finally proving her authority over the girl, but wanted to make sure she got her point across. She grabbed the girl forward suddenly, still clutching onto the collar of her uniform, then slammed her up against the wall once more.

"Now, explain to me what you were saying from before," she demanded.

"Wwwhich thing?" she gulped.

She shoved her against the wall even harder.

"Don't play stupid. That thing you said about me failing and punishment," she said harshly.

"That...that was just what I heard..."

"From who?!" she asked forcefully, with her face practically touching the girl's.

"Fffrom the General ma'am!"

Hera lightened slightly with her hold, but continued to interrogate her.

"What did he say?"

"He...he told me...before you arrived...that...that if the initiative fails...that you will be held personally responsible."

Hera grew furious at the information, and unfortunately, took it out on the girl once more, by throwing her towards the bunk, causing her to fall to the ground. The Twi'lek stood above her, completely angered.

"Lllook! Oookay! Okay! I'm sorry! Okay! I'm not looking for trouble!" she said in a pleading way.

"A little late for that, don't you think?"

"I know! I know! I'm...I'm sorry! You can even have the top bunk!"

Hera looked upon the girl who suddenly looked harmless and yet, despite the attitude the girl had earlier that caused everything to escalate, she somewhat pitied her.

"Get up," she ordered.

The girl immediately stood up in attention, firm with her hands to her sides. Slightly towering over the girl, Hera looked her straight in the eyes.

"From now on, I demand respect out of you and you will follow my orders without question. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am!"  


* * *

  
For the next few days, the two had gone along with the General's planned agenda. This first phase was focused mainly on getting to know each other. This revolved not only around skillset and abilities, but obviously on a personal level.

Sabine had been more obedient since their first encounter, trying hard to not upset the Lieutenant any further. Hera found relief in this, as it was one less thing for her to worry about. The Twi'lek realized that all the girl needed was a bit of _proper_ discipline to get her in line.

While they had gotten to know each other's skills a bit more, through flight simulations and one-on-one hand to hand combat, Hera took it upon herself to do some digging on the girl's background. She accessed her records, a privilege she was given by the General, and found out that she did graduate from the Academy, but on Mandalore. She was a Mandalorian. This took Hera by surprise, considering she had had a different image of what Mandalorians would look like, and the Ensign wasn't it. Granted, she never really thought about what they would be at a younger age, without the full armor they were always known to wear, but, even still. During their lunch break, she decided to talk to her.

"Ensign. I understand that you went to Imperial Academy on Mandalore."

"Yes ma'am. I was a cadet there briefly."

"Briefly?"

"Yes ma'am. I was primed to go there, by will of my parents. I was there a few years, to undergo basic training, but as I progressed, the school had done an analysis on my skill-set and found that I'd be better suited as a pilot. After that, I got transferred over to Skystrike."

"And that's where you were up until recently?"

"Yes ma'am. The program directors were right in that I'd excel more with flying, so I accelerated through the program early, but, I'm still pretty good in other areas as well."

"Because you're a Mandalorian?"

The Ensign looked up to the Lieutenant to gauge whether her comment had been out of pure honesty, or with a sarcastic and malicious intent. Luckily, it seemed to be the former.

"Yes. Partially."

"I understand your people are practically trained as warriors from a very young age."

Sabine nodded.

"So what other skills do you excel at?"

"Honestly ma'am, almost anything you could ask for in a soldier," she said with a bit of a melancholic tone.

"You say that as if you're not proud."

"No no no," Sabine immediately said as she started to hide her thoughts on the subject. "I...I didn't mean that. I do have pride at what I'm capable of doing. No doubt about that."

"Hm..."

"I assure you, Lieutenant," she then said earnestly.

Hera had slightly warmed up to the girl, but only slightly. Since their encounter on that first day, Sabine had become more obedient and respectful, at least of her. She still saw that snippy and rebellious attitude of hers come out from time to time through interactions with some of the others, but kept it under wraps around her presence. With that, Hera was able to focus on the girl's abilities, rather than disregarding them. If she had to be honest, she was actually impressed at what she was capable of doing at her age. Her flight skills, especially, rivaled others who've had experience flying into tight situations.

"Good. Having pride in yourself and what you can do will help build the confidence you'll need to shine here. And if you do, we both win."

Sabine looked at the Lieutenant once more and nodded. The woman's advice was the first comment that suggested that she had probably begun to accepted her. It was something that gave the girl that extra push to prove herself, not just out of fear from the Lieutenant, but because the Twi'lek seemed to have faith in her.

"There is one other thing I am curious about," Hera started up once more. "I noticed that there is a slight gap of time after graduation and being assigned here, to 'The Ghost'."

"Hah, leave it to administration to fuck something up like that in a person's bio."

"Ensign," she scolded slightly at the disrespectful verbiage.

"Sorry Lieutenant!" she immediately apologized. "Habits..."

"Mhmmm."

"Anyway, right after, they assigned me to a squad with the Imperial Starfighter Corps. I did well on my first few missions, before they reassigned me here."

"I see."

"Better off for it too. The others I worked with were a bunch of idiots," she half mumbled.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey runt! What do you think you're doing?" an angered fellow pilot shouted.

"Uh...going to train?" Sabine answered.

"Not in that room, kid. I've got that one reserved."

"Oh yea? I don't think that's how it works. First come, first served."

"Well I say I'm taking it."

"Hah, and who says you can? You don't outrank me."

"Maybe not, but my fists do."

"Hah. I doubt that too. I've seen you fight. The General's service droid has a better chance of landing a punch than you do," she taunted.

"Let's see about that, because I'm about to punch that smile right off your smart ass mouth," he said as he stepped toward the girl.

"Let's see you try....ow!"

All of a sudden a hand smacked her hard behind the head. It was Hera.

"Causing trouble again, Ensign?" she glared to the girl.

"Uh...no, no ma'am," she said, backing down from her confrontation with the man.

"Hrmph. Good thing someone can smack some sense into this child."

"Ensign Ivax, I'm sure you have something better to do than to insult my young pilot."

"With all due respect, Senior Lieutenant, she was the one who started this mess," he said with a slight attitude.

Hera hated Ivax. His good for nothing attitude had gotten several pilots incapacitated in one way or another, as he tried to prove himself to be the one feared in the unit. Ivax on the other hand, held a grudge against Hera, since he hated how much her superior skills outmatched his, though he'd never admit to it, and how she had insulted his abilities a time or two, during a few challenges where she had beaten him. If it wasn't for her higher rank and favoritism among their superiors, he'd show her that he'd meant business.

"And she will be disciplined for it, but I suggest you leave her alone, lest you want to have to deal with me and the General."

The man glared, then hissed some condescending remark before he left.

"You didn't need to do that you know. I totally had it under control."

Her smug comment earned her another slap at the back of her head.

"Ow! Why do you keep doing that?"

"Because you need some sense smacked into you."

"Ha ha."

"Ensign, do you realize who you were just arguing with?"

"Some idiot who thinks he can boss everyone around?"

Hera was unable to deny the correctness in that remark, but continued on. 

"Yes, but even though he is an idiot for thinking that, don't EVER cross him. Understood?"

"What? Why? Lieutenant, you just called him an idiot. Idiot's like him need to be taught a lesson," she said as she glared in the direction of the man who was no longer in sight. She then cupped a punch from her opposing hand, earning her another hard slap in the head.

"What!" Sabine yelled a tad too loud, angered by the constant smacking.

"Watch your tone, Ensign," she reprimanded. "That man is dangerous in a way that you don't know. The last thing I need to deal with is why you ended up in the infirmary. Don't question my decision. I have my reasons. Do not interact with him in that manner again. That's an order. Understood?"

Said with ultimate authority, Sabine had no choice but to accept her instructions.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Let's get to training."  


* * *

  
_Several days later, on an actual mission..._

"Starbird, we've begun to dock. Ready?"

"Yes ma'am."

Sabine and Hera were about to dock with a ship that they had damaged, under the objective of obtaining stolen Imperial information from the hands of a former ISB agent. In these routine ops, Hera usually remained to pilot the ship, while Sabine boarded the ship. 

The girl made he way through the docked bridge, then had to blast her way into the ship. Upon entering, it was mainly dark. Their ship had sustained heavy damage and she heard groans of those injured. 

"Starbird, status."

"The ship's in bad shape. It's pretty dark in here, so it might take some time to find what we're looking for."

"Roger that. Make sure you find the datachip AND the informant. And..."

"And make sure there's no witnesses. Roger that Spectre."

Sabine navigated through the dark corridors, with only a small beam of light from her wrist guiding the way. Each time she came across someone, she examined the person, and if they weren't the target, she shot them, leaving them for dead. She had nearly gotten through most of the small transport, when she was suddenly attacked from behind. Someone much larger and much stronger than her had grabbed her, preventing her from moving about, however, this kind of attack wasn't foreign to her. She's had many experiences with larger opponents assuming they could get a jump on her, with a surprise attack from behind. With her hands pinned to her sides, she struggled to reach for a button on the side of her utility belt, and once she activated it, out fired two tiny darts that latched onto the attackers torso. Upon contact, it emitted an electronic shock, enough to lighten up his grasp. Sabine forced her way out of the hold and pointed her blasters straight at the man's head.

"Hrmph. Can't take me by surprise, creep," she said as she fired her weapon, killing him instantly.

"Pppplease! Spare us!" Sabine heard from the front of the ship.

There was a woman tightly holding onto a child. Sabine stood in surprise for a moment, not expecting someone like them to be onboard.

"I'm looking for an ISB agent. Where is he?"

"I...I don't know what you're talking about. We just boarded this transport ship to return home to our family. Please....please, don't hurt us."

Sabine looked into the frightened eyes of the child and her mother, and was conflicted.

"I...I need to find this man," she said, waving a image of him. "Tell me where he is."

"We haven't seen him. We've been here the whole time, with the pilot who..."

Sabine looked over to the pilot that looked to have been killed during the attack on the ship, then took a deep breath to face the woman once more.

"Look. I'm pretty sure you're lying. We have solid intel that this man boarded this ship. He stole something from us and we won't hesitate to do what we need to do to get it back."

The child started to whimper in fear as Sabine raised her weapon to the woman.

"Nooo," she cried, "please...please don't hurt my mommy!"

"Tell me where the man is," she said somewhat shaking from her resolve. "Maybe...maybe you can go if..."

Before Sabine could finish her sentence, blaster fire came from behind her, and out of reaction, she ducked down behind some seats. She looked over and saw both the woman and child falling victim to the shots, causing Sabine's heart to drop. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she was pulled up by a strong grab on the back of her shirt. Turning around, she saw Hera.

"Lieu...."

"Callsigns! Starbird!" she said angrily.

"Spectre...what are you doing here? I...I didn't radio in for help."

"No, but you took way too long without sending me an update."

Sabine then turned back to where the pair had fallen, but couldn't see them from where she stood.

"You'll have to answer for your failure," Hera said, tossing the girl aside.

"I...I didn't fail! I didn't find the traitor! I was in the middle of interrogating that...," her throat tightened up in remembering the woman and her child.

"You did fail," Hera said, turning back towards her, while waving the datachip in front of her.

"How...where did that come from?"

"From the people you failed to kill."

Sabine looked down with embarrassment and remorse.

"I...the child...her mother...I..."

Hera took hold of the girl's shoulders and shook her. 

"You were not thinking of our objective," she scolded.

For a moment, Sabine's vulnerability came through, tears welled in her eyes, but she dared not to lift her head for Hera to see.

"I...I couldn't...I couldn't!" she shouted.

Hera smacked the girl across the side of her head. 

"You could, but you clouded your judgement," she said sternly. She then stepped aside, and dragged Sabine to the victims. "Look!"

Sabine had her eyes closed shut. Partially to prevent more tears from falling, and partially to hide her eyes from the sight. She wasn't ready to see them gunned down.

"Starbird," she said with a angered tone. "Look. Look at them," she ordered.

Reluctantly, Sabine slowly opened her eyes and was shocked to see a large, disfigured being of greyish skin, lying where the woman and child had been.

"What...what is this?"

"This, is our target."

"What? How?"

"It seems that you didn't do all your homework on the ISB agent. He's a Shi'ido. A shape shifting species. They're quite valuable to the Empire. Shame we lost this one."

"I...I didn't know..."

"And you will answer for it. Let's go. We're behind schedule."

Once they had boarded the ship, Hera fired two torpedos and dessimated what remained of the transport.  


* * *

  
"Your first mission. Successful? Lieutenant?" the General asked.

"Mostly sir. We acquired the stolen data and can personally confirm that the threat has been neutralized," she said, handing him the datachip.

"Hm...sounds like a success to me. What is the problem?"

"The Ensign here, nearly failed in her objectives."

"That so?" he said with intrigue, looking over to the silent girl in the room.

"Ensign. What have you to say?"

"Sir I...I failed to realize that our target was....a shape shifter."

"I see. So, you fell victim to his tricks."

"Yes sir..."

"Explain."

"Sir...I...I had been searching the ship and didn't find him. I came across this...pair...I tried to get information from them about the traitor, but..."

"Why did you not kill them? If they were not the target, then they were irrelevant. Do you forget your duty?"

"To succeed and be unnoticed. Leave no witnesses. No sir."

"Then explain your failure to comply to it."

"I didn't fail sir. I just...I hadn't come to that point yet. I was...I was still interrogating them."

"Oh?" he said in disbelief. "And how long did you interrogate them for?"

"For quite some time," Hera interrupted momentarily.

"You understand that when you're on these missions, time is of the essence. You take too long and that micro-fraction of a second could mean utter failure for you and your comrade if enemy ships had arrived." he said in a strong, lecturing tone.

"I...I'm sorry sir."

"Tell me, Ensign Wren. Look at me in the eyes and tell me that you would have terminated them, once you were through with your _'interrogation'_."

"I...yes...yes I would've," she said with a weak tone.

"That doesn't sound convincing, Ensign. I'm very disappointed in you."

"Yes sir."

"I won't tolerate mistakes like this. Had your Lieutenant not come in to handle the situation, this would've looked bad for both of you. Your punishment will be decided. For now, you are to return to your cabin and remain there until called upon."

"Sir," she said, as she nodded her head and left the room.

"Your thoughts, Lieutenant."

"Sir, she was...her hesitation was uncalled for. You are correct in your decision to discipline her for her failure."

"Tell me. What was the image that the Shi'ido transformed into? What made the girl falter?"

"Sir he...he transformed into a woman and child."

"Ah," he said knowingly. "Understood."

"Sir?"

"Nothing for you to be concerned about. This is something of note in my assessment of Ensign Wren," he said as he turned to his computer to enter in some information. "Thank you for bringing all this to my attention, Lieutenant. You are dismissed."

  


* * *

  
Back in their cabin, Hera walked in on the girl who was curled up in her bunk, facing the wall. 

They had been assigned together for nearly two weeks now, and things had been going well for the most part. They've only had two assessments so far, and both had shown a compatibility with each other. There was still a wall between the two, in part because Hera, in a way, didn't want to get too attached to anyone, and Sabine, seemed to have a hidden aspect to her, one which Hera didn't really want to pry into, until now. The way that the General had commented about the Shi'ido's transformation, and its effect on Sabine swirled in her mind. There was something else, and it piqued her curiosity, but now was not the time.

"You didn't have to report me to the General..." the girl mumbled from her pillow.

"Ensign, the General needs to know how his pilots are performing and how to minimize the chances of failure. I would have expected you to have done the same if it were me."

"I wouldn't have..."

Hera stood facing up at the girl in her bunk, with her arms crossed and her hips cocked to the side. She questioned the girl's response.

"There is part of the problem. You don't seem to be committed to this program, or this unit."

"I AM COMMITTED!" she shouted, knowing full well that her tone might've gotten her in more trouble. But, she was upset about the whole ordeal. It all rooted deeper.

"Hrmph. So you say, yet you couldn't execute the very basic rule that this unit depends upon."

The girl suddenly got up and turned towards her. Her face was wet from tears.

"That was a child and her mother, Hera!"

"Ensign, you've forgotten your place. You will address me as Lieutenant," she said sternly.

"No. Not this time. You're a person. Aren't you? How could you just easily gun down people like that! Harmless. Scared. Mother and daughter!"

"Are you listening to yourself? You're justifying something that wasn't there! _That_ was a shape shifter who toyed with you!"

"You couldn't have known that so easily!"

"You need to make judgement calls," she said solemnly. "You learn to make them. For the good of the unit. For the good of the Empire."

Sabine hopped down from her bunk to face her directly. She stared at the Twi'lek who seemed to show no regret for the decision she had made. She was searching for any inkling of remorse or humanity, but found none.

"You're a monster."

Hera was starting to get annoyed. Out came the reason of why working with someone with so little experience of fighting out in the real world, was concerning. Someone who hasn't solidified their loyalty to the Empire, by _actually_ serving.

She grabbed the girl by her shirt.

"Are you or are you not a solider of the Empire? Did you or did you not come to join this unit to do your part? We all have a responsibility, kid. Right now, you're acting like a child."

"Let go of me!" she said with anger as she pulled away from the Lieutenant's grasp. Just then, there was a brief knock on the door, before it opened, revealing three Imperial soldier droids.

"We have orders from General Jetir to take Ensign Wren."

"Hrmph. Looks like you're up, kid," she said scornfully.

The girl hesitated momentarily, as she looked upon the three droids. She then slowly made her way into their custody.  


* * *

  
The Ensign never did return that night. Hera assumed that perhaps she was going to be detained longer than she would have assumed. Then again, it hadn't crossed her mind that somehow the girl may have further aggravated her situation by possibly breaking rank or causing some action that was typical of her insubordinate and cocky attitude. Without being able to complete the next day's agenda, she was called in briefly to the General's office.

"Lieutenant Syndulla. Come in," he gestured.

"You called for me, General?"

"Yes, please sit. Due to the situation that Ensign Wren has found herself in, it appears you will have the opportunity to take leave from the Pod Program for the time being. You will continue on with solo missions, as you had done prior. When the time comes, and the Ensign is ready, you will both return back to completing this trial initiative. Any questions?"

"No sir. Thank you," she said, somewhat relieved to hear that she will be back to doing what she had been, without needing to babysit. However, she did wonder about the girl. "Actually, sir. I do wonder about Ensign Wren. How long will she be detained for?"

"For as long as I deem necessary."

"Understood...," she said, but his answer did not satisfy her. "Sir, may I ask what disciplinary action had been sentenced?"

"No, you may not. That is outside your need to know," he said, watching Hera's expression. 

The General noticed that Hera seemed to be taking a liking of some sort to the Ensign, and he smirked slightly, thinking that the program may have a future after all, if he could get these two to continuously work together as a team. As of now, perhaps the two of them have started to bond.

"Lieutenant, I notice that it appears you have some concern over your fellow pilot. I urge you not to worry. We are working to make sure that she understands the commitment she is making to our unit, and to the Empire. She is...in safe hands. For now, look at it this way. You are free to soar once more, without the burden of another, and you may shine, as always."

For a moment, that slight compliment reminded her of what she did come here for. She wanted to continue to be the best fighter pilot for the Empire, and being with "The Ghost" will help get her there.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> Sorry, I know this is a short chapter, so I'll try to get the next one ready to go. Hopefully by tonight? I've just been writing several works at the same time.

Hera had been kept busy running mission after mission. It would seem that during the time she had been training with Ensign Wren, several of their pilots were lost, either through skirmishes or had otherwise been eliminated from the unit. As usual, Hera didn't mind. It kept her skills sharp and the challenges she was presented got tougher as it went. She ran everything from surveillance to interception, which sometimes led to her being in the odds. However, despite all that, she continued to shine. There had been only one incident where her ship had been badly damaged and she had suffered a concussion alongside some burns, but she was only set back a few days in sickbay before she returned to duty, and when she did, her assignment was paramount.

"Lieutenant Syndulla, welcome back. I hope you were able to get some rest."

"I did, General. Thank you."

"Good. Your return has corresponded nicely to a mission that I was just made aware of. Please, have a seat."

Hera did so and waited patiently. Somehow she felt that this next mission was going to be just the thing she needed to quell her need to be back at the helm. What concerned her however, was the very serious expression that the General was wearing. One that somehow had a look of worry and tension.

"Everything alright sir?"

"Lieutenant, what I am about to disclose to you, may be the most important mission this unit has ever been given. It is one that will test the strength of this unit, and one that will no doubt be of the utmost importance to the Empire. Failure to complete this mission will not only terminate the very existence of Triple Zero, but may also cause the demise of the Empire as we know it. This, all lies on the ability of you to succeed."

Hera's eyes widened and her throat tightened. The General and her superiors had trusted her skills from the get-go, but had never given her a mission that seemed to mean so much.

"I...I understand, sir."

The man took a deep breath then began to explain her mission. It seemed simple enough. She was to pilot a ship containing two passengers, bringing them to a single destination and returning them back to headquarters. She is to keep them safe at all times, stay under the radar of their enemies, and to avoid capture at all costs. The only problem, is that one of the two passengers would be the Emperor himself.

"The...the Emperor...sir?"

"You now understand the gravity of the situation."

"Sir...I...I'm flattered to be given this opportunity, but...why doesn't the Emperor travel on his dreadnought? I'm sure that would be the most efficient and safe method of transportation. Would it not?'

"I would normally agree with you, but it so happens that whatever it is the Emperor needs to get done, requires the use of a much smaller ship. And, with that, I failed to mention that you will be provided a special ship, best of its class in terms of weaponry, speed and defense. It is no dreadnought, but it is a tanker of a ship, considering its size. Are you ready for this responsibility, Lieutenant?"

Ever since the word, Emperor, had been mentioned, Hera had been apprehensive. Her brow formed beads of sweat, her heart beat loudly, her hands shook nervously, and for a moment, it felt as though there was a rock lodged in her throat. It was a great opportunity, but one of grave importance.

"Sir. I...I have full confidence that I will succeed."

"See to it that you do. I have complete faith in you. You represent the best of what this unit has to offer. The balance of everything rests on your shoulders, and I wish you luck."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, as promised!

Hera entered the ship she was assigned. She had never seen one like it before. It was the size of a small transport, built to look like a starfighter, but armed like a gunship. It was unique in every way. Hera studied its abilities way before the day of the mission and was impressed by its capabilities. As she stepped foot into it, it felt even more majestic than she had imagined. Looking around, she saw that there was an astromech droid at the helm awaiting her orders.

"Hi there, uh..."

[Droid responds with a series of beeps]

"C1-10P huh. Interesting. You um...look like a much older model that some of the astromechs I've usually seen on our missions."

[Droid responds once more in binary]

"The most reliable astromech the Empire has in its possession?" she asked skeptically. "I kind of doubt that."

[Droid responds in much more angered tone]

"Whoa whoa, okay, calm down there, C1-10P. I'm just making an observation. Hm. I've definitely never worked with a droid that has this much attitude before."

[More beeps and whirs]

"Hah, a result of your programming. That, I believe. I still find your presence still odd though, considering there are way more um...newer models available."

[Incessant and disgruntled beeps are heard]

"You've been through a number of important battles for the Empire and survived huh? Well, judging by the the shape you're in, I would believe that. You look like you've been chopped up to bits a number of times, considering you exterior..."

[Droid beeps angrily at the insults, throws out a few expletives and zaps her in the leg]

"Ow! Why you..."

[Droid interrupts with more beeping]

"The General sent you?" she sighed heavily. "Fine. I can't argue that," she said looking at the menacing droid. "You better be worth it, C1-10. You know what? I'm just going to call you Chopper, based on....all this," she gestured around the entire droid, earning her another zap. "Kriff! Knock it off! You zap me one more time and so help me, I will throw you out the airlock."

The droid just laughed and continued on his way, plugging in and making last minute systems checks on the ship. Hera sighed and turned towards the console. As she made herself comfortable with the dash of controls, the amount of excitement inside her couldn't be contained. This ship was everything she could've hoped for, and wished that she could be able to captain that ship all the time. That giddiness she felt was all of a sudden doused out, when the Emperor and a man dressed in black robes made their appearance. At the sight of them, it sent chills down her spine.

"Your majesty," Hera greeted as she knelt down before him.

"Ah, you must be the pilot the General has spoken so highly of. Lieutenant Syndulla, I presume."

"Yes, your highness."

"I trust that you will make this a successful journey for us."

"I will not fail you, My Lord."

"Good, then let us be on our way."

Hera began manning the helm, inputting the coordinates that had been provided to her. The Emperor and his companion made little appearance after that, as they had kept to themselves in the main chamber behind the cockpit. It was better that way, allowing her to loosen up slightly, all things considered.

"My Lord, I've set the coordinates and am ready to make the jump to hyperspace," she said over the comm.

"Good. Proceed, Lieutenant."

"Yes sir."

While in hyperspace, Hera tried to study the star maps and the surrounding planets around their point of exit. She had been told where they needed to be, but it was in the middle of space. There were surrounding planets close by, but she wasn't told exactly where their destination was. In her attempts to be prepared for anything, she looked into everything detailing the area and its inhabitants, and overlayed the information with Imperial records to make note of anything that may pose problems for their journey.

As she read through the last bit of information she held, she found that there had been a number of rebel sightings in the area, one of which involved the destruction of one of the Empire's cruisers. That set her on edge slightly. For rebels to take down a cruiser, meant that they either had a significant fleet ready, or had powerful ships. This had never been something she had dealt with, solo. She was part of battles with groups of rebel fighters in the past, but that was when she was part of a squadron, and not with "The Ghost". In fights like that, it was generally a good idea to have more than one fighter around.

Taking some precaution, she made final checks on the ship's diagnostics to make sure everything was ready and able. As soon as they exited hyperspace, Hera got the ship prepared.

"Chopper, put up all defenses, full strength, then scan the surrounding area for any ships in proximity."

[The droid acknowledges without retort and does so.]

After a moment, she comms to her guests.

"My Lord, we've exited hyperspace and are at the coordinates you mentioned."

"Good. Keep alert Lieutenant. I fear that we may be joined by some unwanted guests."

"Yes, your highness."

Not a moment later, the ship's sensors go off and Chopper begins to beep at Hera.

"Well, the Emperor's gut was spot on," she mumbled to herself. "Chop, what do we got?"

[Droid mentions that there is a squad of fighters on their tail. About five total.]

"Ugh, this is going to make things difficult." She then communicates to _them_. "Apologies, my Lord, but it seems that you were right. There's several fighters on us now. Please stand by."

"Handle them, Lieutenant."

"Yes, your majesty," she responded. "Let's see what this baby's got."

Hera worked on evading the ships' attacks, utilizing every trick she had. Her goal was to create enough chaos to allow for their fighters to accidentally either fire upon themselves, or crash into one another. The other benefit of her maneuvers was allowing her attackers to cluster up temporarily, so that she could fire upon them all. Her flight skills were put to good use and was being put to the test thoroughly. She evaded majority of their attacks, but their ship still fell victim to several of their shots. Luckily, their shields held up nicely. They were much stronger than on other ships that size.

"Chop, get those torpedoes online!" she shouted to the droid. "Alright you rebel scum. You wanna party? Let's party..."

She flew into a nearby site, full of debris from destroyed ships and asteroids, using the field to her advantage. Her ship was quick and nimble, allowing her to out run her attackers. When she had the chance, she fired onto them, just enough for them to be distracted enough, so that they were not able to avoid oncoming pieces of debris. She knocked out two ships that way. After that, she kept going, eventually, the ships smartened up and exited the debris field, and just waited outside of it. Baiting her attackers, she too, exited the field, but the ships were in her line of sight. Before they could evade her, she fired several more shots, taking one out, while it knocked its companion into a nearby asteroid.

"Kaboom," she jeered. "One left. Now, where are you..."

Hera looked at her surroundings, searching for her attacker, but no luck. The scans indicated that the ship was close by, but she had no actual visual, nor was it firing on her.

"I don't like this. He's being too quiet. Chop, those torpedoes online yet?"

[Chopper confirms that they are.]

"Good. Let's finish this."

Hera takes a few turns and quickly positions herself so that she sees the ship in the distance. To her surprise, it remained there, doing nothing.

"What's his deal? Chop, scan that ship."

After a moment, the droid responds with his findings.

"Hah, system failure. That's the problem with these rebels. They fight with outdated pieces of junk. Oh well, sorry guy, just doing my job."

With that, Hera arms her torpedoes and fires them, decimating the ship.

"Any other party crashers, little guy?"

[Chopper responds that all is in the clear.]

"Great. I could use a breather. Let's hope that's the last of our guests."

Hera then goes to update her passengers. 

"My Lord, we're in the clear. There are no other opposing ships in the area."

"Well done, Lieutenant. I see you've lived up to your reputation after all."

"I do my best, your majesty."

"Good, let's hope there are no other incidences. There is an asteroid, up ahead, past the third planet. It will be the largest one there. That's where we need to dock."

"Understood."  


* * *

  
"Lieutenant, you will remain here by the ship. My...companion and I need to make a stop. We will call to you when we are ready to leave."

"Yes, my Lord"

Once the two leave, Hera remains on guard until they disappear out into the darkness. She then returns into the ship to run diagnostics with Chopper.

It was a few hours since they had docked, and Hera had just completed running a diagnostic sweep on the ship. There was little to be done. The ship held up to its reputation. The shields had regenerated quickly and was back to full strength. Now all they needed to do was wait.

"Chop, any sign of....anything?" she asked the droid. 

Other than the dim residual light that came from the ship that illuminated the ship's immediate radius, all she saw was utter darkness. It was deathly quiet as well.

[Chopper responds with his findings.]

"Nothing huh? I wonder what the Emperor is doing all the way out here. On an asteroid at that. Can't be much on here," she said, looking around. "I can't wait to leave. Place gives me the creeps."

A few moments later, there was a knock on the ship's door.

"About time," she said, as she headed towards the entrance.

As soon as she opened it, she was knocked down by some man in a mask and hood. They fought within the confines of the ship, exchanging punches and dodging blows. At some point, the man fired an unexpected shot at Hera, wounding her in the arm, but that didn't stop her. The adrenaline kept her going and she was able to knock the blaster out of his hands. There was a short pause in their attacks as they both eyed each other, catching their breaths.

"Who are you?" Hera demanded.

"A sworn enemy," the voice answered.

"That's awfully vague."

"Heh, well, that's all you need to know. Once I take you down. I'm taking down the Emperor."

"I'm not impressed with your cocky attitude. I deal with bozos like you on a daily basis. Your bark sounds intimidating, but your bite, eh...not so much."

"Wait until...aaggghhhh!"

The man shouted in pain as Chopper zapped him at full strength.

"Hah, good timing little guy."

Hera then pulled out her blasters and pointed it at the man's head, who laid helpless on the ground.

"I'm going to ask you one last time. Who are you?"

"You can kill me, but you can't kill our spirit. The Empire will go down," he said with a strained voice.

"Aaandd, I'm done with you," she said as she fired her blasters with conviction, killing him on the spot.

Hera then goes through his clothes, trying to find anything to identify him. Based on his resolve, she assumed that he was affiliated with the rebels, but hoped for a bit more information. Unfortunately, she found nothing other than a tattoo on the man's wrist; the symbol of the rebellion. Frustrated, she turned to Chopper.

"Hey Chop. This guy must've gotten here by ship. Scan the area, lemme know when you find it."

After a moment, he responded, letting her know that there was a faint signal coming from a ship, not too far off from where they were.

"Nice job, Chop," she said as she contemplated. I'd love to get my hands on it. There might be some worthy intel onboard.

[Chopper lets out a string of beeps.]

"I know, I know. The Emperor ordered me to stay here. But...there's such an opportunity there..."

"An opportunity where?"

Hera suddenly turned around to see that the Emperor and his companion had returned.

"My Lord!" she said suddenly, dropping down to one knee. "I apologize, I did not hear you enter."

Seeing the body laying on the ground, he asked what had transpired.

"This man got the jump on me, your highness, but, with Chopper's help, we've subdued the threat."

"I see. Well done, Lieutenant," he said, eyeing the corpse as if it held some recognition. 

"Your highness, if I may...this man, has a ship nearby. It may possibly hold some information that would benefit the Empire."

"You think ahead. I admire your enthusiasm, Lieutenant, but I feel that we must be on our way, lest we run into more unwanted company. However, as you say, this ship may contain information. Information that may include information about our presence here."

"No need to go on, your highness. I will destroy the ship before we leave."

"As expected of you. Good."

After dumping the body, true to her word, Hera flew the ship across the darkness, until they were in sight of man's vessel.

"Leave no witnesses," she said softly to herself, then she fired a single torpedo onto it, destroying it as it burst into flames.  


* * *

  


Upon return their return, the Emperor thanked Hera for her services.

"Lieutenant, I thank you greatly for assisting me in this endeavor."

"Anything for the Empire, my Lord," she said, as she knelt once more before him.

"Indeed. Your talents have held up well to your reputation. I am impressed with the way you handled those rebel ships. Your...instincts seemed to have guided you well," he said a little too knowingly.

"Thank you, your majesty. I do rely best on my gut."

"Perhaps it is more than that, young pilot," he said with a hidden smirk. "I look forward to seeing what you do in the future. I will...keep an eye on your progress as you grow within our ranks, Captain."

Hera looked up at him in surprise.

"You heard right, young pilot. Your promotion is in effect as of this moment. The formality of it will be handled by the General."

"Th...thank you sir. That's...that's most gracious of you."

"You've earned it. This journey was not a simple one, and what I was able to accomplish weighs much more than you can ever imagine. Good luck, Captain. May our paths cross again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things got crazy and couldn't find the time to edit right away, but finally got to it.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy this bit so far. I have a few more drafts associated to this piece. Not sure if I'll continue after that. Depends on time and interest.
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

Hera's new title had earned her a break, but only for a few days, before she was back at it. This time, the job was a group effort.

"Alright you lot. I've gathered you here because we are in need of several pilots to coordinate together on a mission. There is word that in a corner of the outer rim, lies a location where a growing rebel cluster appears to be gathering. The forces are small, and still in the early stages, but, we cannot allow them to get much bigger."

"Sir, if it's just another rebel base of some sort, shouldn't the Imperial fleet handle this? Isn't this a normal op for them?" asked a single pilot.

"Yes, but, due to its proximity to a somewhat neutral system, we cannot show that our forces are involved in decimating a band of people. Not everyone understands who these rebels are and what they do. To them, they could just be a wandering group of gypsies. We can't tarnish the name of the Empire to systems we have yet to control. Make sense?"

All nodded in unison.

"Good. As discussed, your mission is to obliterate them. A ship will be assigned to each of you. They are a set designed to look like pirate ships. You will apply the necessary masking of their signatures to be as such. We want this to look like a typical raid." 

The General then sighed as he thought about the next words coming out of his mouth, knowing full well that group efforts only have a fifty percent success rate in their unit.

"You must coordinate as a team. We cannot let anyone escape that base. And you all know what else."

"Succed and be unnoticed. Leave no witnesses. Sir!" they said unison.

The General found relief in their unified understanding. Now, he thought, if only they could actually work together just as well.

"Captain Syndulla here, will be leading this mission. You are all EXPECTED to follow her orders exactly. Any form of disobedience will be dealt with upon your return. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" they all said once more.

"Good. Captain, you're up."

Hera had received the General's orders and reviewed the details of the mission in advance. There was a remote planet, just outside the edges of the outer rim, where a single spy, a mole that they had in their ranks, had mentioned the small band of rebels that were forming. They were an accumulation of locals from the planet who had been recruited by them. They were building up a new base. Supposedly, one of their higher ranking commanders was taking a personal interest in it completion, and was known to be spending most of their efforts there. Destroying the base would kill two birds with one stone.

Hera had been given five additional pilots to complete this mission. Two were some she'd worked with before and didn't really pose a problem. The other three, on the other hand, were quite the opposite. Leave it to her luck that Ensign Ivax and two of his lackeys would be assigned to her. 

"Alright, we have our orders and that's the plan of attack. Our formation is key. We need to cover all areas up above in orbit for those escaping, and, down below, where we need to deal with the ground forces. If we are to succeed, we need to handle it this way."

She then looked to the team and saw that Ivax was wearing a sneer.

"Got a problem, Ensign?"

"Hrmph. No."

The team all heard him say no, but she felt that there was going to be some way he was going to screw things up, and that he had other plans. She wasn't sure what it'd be, and she's never flown with him before, but she had a sinking feeling something was going to turn up. She had to stay on alert.

* * *

"Okay, Marsh, Fauna, you're with me. We need to handle the base. Skull, Hornbeast, Bodooka, you are in charge of the orbital section. Keep an eye out for anyone trying to escape the base."

"Spectre, I do believe you have our roles switched. My crew can handle the ground forces," Ivax interrupted.

"Skull, while I do believe you and your boys can handle it, this is my op and that's the assignment. Clear?"

"Hrmph."

Hera shook her head as they approached their destination.

"Okay, here we go. Everyone, start the attack."

At that, the groups split into their proper groupings. Hera and her wings swooped down onto the planet, closing in on the rebel camp. As they approached, they were fired upon by the ground troops. Several of the ships were preparing to launch.

"Marsh, break off. Handle whatever fighters attempt to lift off. Try to get them before they gain any speed. Fauna, you're with me. Start deploying the torpedoes. Fire when ready. Orbital crew, fighters are gearing to go. Keep an eye out. Let's do this."

With that, the Imperial pilots did what was ordered of them. The bombs that Hera and her wing deployed, immediately decimated the area, but they were waiting for the area's dust to settle before they can get a visual confirmation. Marsh was able to take out two pilots before they got into the air. Several of their other ships were making way for orbit.

"Skull, visual. Do you have the rebels in sight up there?"

"Hrmph, we're taking them down before they get to us," Ivax responded, alluding to the fact that he and his wings were flying closer to the planet's surface.

"No! That was not what you were ordered to do! You will leave us open!"

"Don't worry Spectre, no one will get past us."

"Ugh!" Hera said in frustration as soon as the communication ended. "He's seriously going to jeopardize the mission. If one ship gets away, we might lose that commander."

Circling the area, Hera saw everyone up above, attacking fleeting ships in all directions. There seemed to be only one transport ship in the distance. She looked down below, where enough of the air had cleared, and saw a handful of rebels running in various directions.

"Dammit!" she shouted. "Fauna, focus your attention to the ground forces. Destroy any vehicle they can use to escape. Once you've done all that, fire upon anyone running on foot. Marsh, attack that transport with all you've got. There's a chance that the commander is onboard. I'll cover you. Skull, you and you boys head back to orbit. Now!"

There was no response from Ivax or his team, but her radar showed that they were still alive and flying around. She saw some of them pass by, chasing a few fighters, and it annoyed her to no end.

"Spectre! I'm taking heavy fire!"

"Hold on Marsh, I'm on my way."

Hera tried to cover him as she tried to keep tabs on the transport. Marsh had been successful enough to damage their shields, but couldn't stop them. She gunned down two of the opposing fighters, but one eluded her, and took out her wingman.

"Marsh!! Dammit. Skull! Skull, you karking idiot! If you're going to stay down here, take out that damn transport!"

"Heh, I've got it in my sights. Don't worry Spectre," he said with a menacing tone.

Hera continued to follow the fighter that eluded her, when she heard screams over the comm.

"I'm hit! I'm hit! Going down! I...I can't eject!"

"Don't eject you idiot," snarled Ivax. "You die. Die with purpose. Aim your ship at the transport. I'm forcing them in your direction."

"Sir! I....I'm not ready to die yet! Just..."

"No! I'm giving you an order soldier. Do as your told."

Hera frowned as she heard the communication between Ivax and one of his lackeys. After destroying the ship she was targeting, she tried to locate them. She saw that the pilot was headed in the direction of the transport, with Ivax closing in from behind.

"Bodooka, I'm coming in. Continue to direct your ship towards the transport. When you're close, eject. I'll cover you and pick you up."

"Spectre! Thank you! I....I can't get the ejection system online. My ship's damaged. I can't..."

"Stop snivelling you coward. Just do your job!" Ivax shouted. "Spectre, don't you have other things to take care of?" he remarked.

At that she grunted in frustration before evaluating the situation.

"Fauna. What's your status?"

"Here, Spectre. I've destroyed all forms of transport on the ground that I could find. They're scattering. I'm trying to shoot them down, but they're everywhere and the dust keeps clouding my vision."

"Deploy the bots," she ordered.

"Yes ma'am."

With that, the female pilot deployed a grouping of miniature attack bots, allowing for them to cover more ground and kill anyone on the run. 

"Deployed, Spectre. That should help."

"Good. Maintain visual. Coordinate as necessary to make sure nothing left is moving down there."

All of a sudden, they heard a loud explosion. Bodooka's ship had successfully taken out the transport as both began to hurl towards the ground as large fireballs. She looked at her radar and heard more shouting.

"Spectre! Skull! I'm hit! Two fighters bested me! I'm, I'm ejecting now!"

"Hornbeast! Do not! You will compromise the mission!" Ivax yelled.

"No!" Hera shouted. "Hornbeast, continue. I'll handle the pick-up."

"Spectre! You're wasting your time! There are several fighters about to exit orbit!"

"And who's fault is that?! You've lost two of our pilots because you failed to follow orders!"

"No, it's because I had lousy pilots as wingmen," he said scornfully. "I'm taking down those rebels, and you should do that same."

With that, Ivax targetted his fellow lackey's ship and fired a torpedo, destroying it before he had a chance to eject.

"Skull! What are you doing! We can't afford to lose pilots!"

"We can't afford to have able bodied ships to pick up those without one. Focus Spectre! Take out the rebels!"

Hera was beyond furious at this point. Their mission was slowly reaching the point of failure. She was three pilots down, and now Ivax was taking command. Without any other option, she focused her attention to the fleeting ships. However, there was more of them than they had first assumed. More than Hera believed they could handle with only two ships.

"Fauna! Status!"

"Ground looks clear, ma'am. Verifying one last time."

"Good! Get yourself up here and start taking out these ships. Now!"

"Yes ma'am!"

The three tried rallying together to take down the ships, but in the end, they only took out four. Three vessels had escaped into hyperspace.

"Dammit! Skull I am personally holding you responsible!"

"That'll never happen, Captain," he jeered, then turned his ship around and started attacking her. "Since the squad suffered some unfortunate deaths, it wouldn't matter now if one more pilot went down," he sneered as he fired more shots in her direction.

Hera immediately started taking evasive maneuvers, trying to prevent being taken down. It only took her a second to decide that she'd need to take him out. There was no talking him out of this, and she wasn't willing to go out without a fight.

"Spectre?"

"Fauna, Skull has turned, we need to take him out."

"Belay that order Ensign, unless you want to end up dead as well."

"Fauna!" Hera called out.

"Sorry, Spectre. You're on your own on this one."

"Good choice, Fauna," he said as he smirked. "Now, Spectre, let's finish this dogfight."

"Dammit!" she said to herself.

Ivax was a pretty good pilot. He taunted himself as such, proving that there was a reason he was in the unit, and why he wanted to establish himself as leader. Hera struggled to evade his attacks, some of which landed, and was slowly taking down her shields. She landed a few shots of her own, but he had far better luck.

"Looks like you're on your way down, Captain," he cackled.

"Not on your life."

The two tangoed back and forth, trying to get the edge on the other. Hera had one last trick up her sleeve. In a sudden maneuver, she dropped down to the surface of the planet and dropped another set of torpedoes onto their target site, causing a flurry of dust to fly up. She swept into the cloud dusting, then shot back up into the sky the minute Ivax entered the same cloud. The minute he exited, Hera was dropping down with him in her sights. It took him a bit to realize that she was there, but it was too late. Her targetting systems already had a lock on him, and she fired her last torpedo. He quickly tried to evade it, but its heat signal tracker kept on his heel and closed in. He tried to find some sort of stand-in, to lose it, but there were no tall structures anywhere on the flat plains of the planet. All his fancy flying couldn't outrun the torpedo. Closer and closer it came, until it finally took him out. The entire vessel burst into flames and Hera watched as it burned. She took a heavy sigh of relief and headed back out of orbit.

"Spectre?"

"Skull is down, Fauna. Return to HQ."

"Roger that."  


* * *

  
"Captain. This mission was as close to a sheer disaster as it comes. The only thing that is saving your hide at the moment, is that the base itself was fully destroyed," the General said in such an angered and disappointed tone.

Hera stood firm at attention, her stare looking in the direction of the General, but not at him directly. Her stance was unwavering, but inside, her emotions were running amuck. Anger, frustration, humiliation, disappointment, all were present. What didn't help was the adrenaline that still raged through her body, with her mind reviewing the dogfight more than anything. 

"Ensign Green, your report of the mission."

"Sir," she started. "We were split into two groups, one to target and destroy on the surface, and the other to remain in orbit to eliminate anyone attempting to escape. Ensign Ivax broke formation and refused to adhere to Captain Syndulla's instructions. All hell broke loose. We lost several pilots in the process and a number of rebel ships escaped. Then..."

"Then what, Ensign?"

"Ivax. He...initiated a dogfight with the Captain. It was a close one, sir."

"Captain Syndulla. Your evaluation of Ensign Green's performance."

"She did well, sir. The Ensign obeyed orders and followed through with each one."

"Very well. Ensign, you are dismissed."

"Thank you, sir."

The minute she left, the General continued his interaction with Hera.

"Captain, you have to know that I am extremely disappointed with the outcome of this mission. I assumed that with you leading the effort, that we would have had a better chance at success than this garbage of an outcome you've presented to me," he said with a scornful tone, clearly holding back his anger as much as he could.

"Sir, I understand. It was out of my control. I..."

"As a leader, you are to take control! I expected more considering your newly acquired title. But, instead of leadership, I have a mutiny. I gave you five pilots, you return with one. I gave you a single mission, and you completed only half of it. What have you to say for yourself?!"

"Sir. I...failed. I take full responsibility and...am prepared to face the consequences..."

The man huffed as he stared at the Twi'lek pilot before him. His fury wasn't necessarily directed to Hera. He looked highly upon her, and he knew that she always did her best. He knew that Ivax was a gamble, but he needed his skills for the mission. It actually wasn't a surprise that he didn't return.

"Captain," he sighed heavily. "Because of your past performance, I am going to be extremely lenient this time around. But now you see the importance of executing a fully operational Pod Division. I am grounding you for the time being. That is your punishment. However, Ensign Wren should be returning for duty soon. When she arrives, you will return your focus back on the initiative. I expect much better results than this, _Captain_."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir. I won't fail you."


	8. Chapter 8

It'd been nearly a month since Hera had seen or heard from Ensign Wren. She'd nearly forgotten about the girl, given her flurry of assignments, but now that she'd been grounded, the thought finally came to mind.

When she wasn't flying, she spent her time either assisting the engineers to repair or update the ships, or was reading up on Imperial news and updates, both external and internal information. Today, she was taking a break from working on the unit's TF-SF04 starfighters. It was the main go-to ship for their unit and wasn't in production for anyone else in the galaxy. Being unseen and unheard meant that their ships were unique among other Imperial vessels, thereby leaving no trail back to the Empire, should it ever get into the wrong hands. 

Hera sat in the common room, sipping on a fresh brew of black coffee, while perusing the latest on rebel activity from the Imperial news network. She had been trying to find any leads that would confirm or deny the status of the supposed rebel commander that her latest mission revolved around. Much to her dismay, there were no such reports denying or confirming anything.

"Lieutenant?" 

Knowing that she was the only one in the common room at the time, she looked up from her datapad and found that the timid voice came from the girl who just entered the room.

"Ensign Wren?"

"Yes ma'am."

The Twi'lek got up from her seat and approached the girl. The girl seemed to look well, physically. But her demeanor was different. She seemed more solemn, reserved and subdued.

"Did you just get out?"

"Yes ma'am. I was told to look for you, Lieutenant."

"Hm. Well, some things have changed since you've been away. My rank is now Captain."

"Apologies, Captain," she said immediately without hesitation. "I was unaware of your promotion. Congratulations."

"Thank you. How...how are you?"

"Fine, Captain. Ready to commence training," she said with almost with a pre-programmed response.

"Ensign, the day is nearly over. We shall begin first thing tomorrow."

"Understood ma'am," she said as she remained at attention.

"Um...you may go now."

"Yes ma'am."  


* * *

  
Nearing dinnertime, Hera decided to see if the Ensign would be interested. She went into their cabin and found the girl sitting by the desk, tinkering with a weapon.

"Ensign."

The girl immediately got up and stood at attention.

"Ma'am! Apologies. I didn't hear you enter."

"At ease, Ensign. You don't need to keep addressing me in such a strict manner."

"Yes ma'am."

The girl relaxed her stance, but remained standing and looking in her direction. Something was different.

"Ensign, I was wondering if you've eaten yet, and if not, I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me."

"Ma'am I have not, but I will accompany you if that's what you wish."

"No, no, Ensign. I'm not ordering you. I'm asking you. It is your decision. Would you like to come to dinner?"

The girl stood, slightly confused, and Hera wasn't quite sure why.

"I...yes ma'am. I'll join you."

The two walked together in silence through the corridor and into the mess hall. They picked up their trays and dishes and sat at one of the tables. Hera watched as she studied the girl, wondering what had happened while she was away.

"Ensign," she started, but wasn't sure how to approach the subject. "You've been gone nearly a month since I saw you last. How...how was everything?"

"Good ma'am. I've been shown my mistakes and points of failure and worked on correcting them."

"Oh," she said, getting the idea that instead of some form of punishment, she was just sent somewhere to re-educate her on her actions. Little did she know what had actually transpired. "That's good then," she added.

"Yes ma'am. I won't make the same mistake again."

The exchange was dry and the responses she was getting from Sabine was brief, and, at one point, it would've been something that Hera would insist on having. But, with the girl's return, she was hoping for more of a casual conversation.

"So, what type of things did they work with you on? With as long as you've been gone, it sounds like you'd undergone training or..."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Captain, but I've been instructed not to disclose any information regarding my leave."

"Instructed?"

"Yes ma'am. By the program director and General themselves."

"I see."

Hera was intrigued. She normally never questioned orders from above, nor their methods, but at the moment, she was genuinely curious. The girl had been in the wrong and was to be disciplined, but, she didn't know by what method. A month's sentence did seem extreme, now that she thought about it, and wondered what could've even been done in such a long amount of time. The stoic personality of the girl also irritated her to some degree, but she wasn't quite sure why. Hoping to get a different reaction out of her, she changed her approach.

"Sabine."

The girl looked up at the Twi'lek with confusion, as if she wasn't sure if it was her that the woman was calling out to.

"Cap..tain?"

"Yes. Yes Sabine, I'm talking to you. How are you feeling after your...re-education?"

"Um...fine, ma'am?" she answered very much confused.

Hera found a bit of relief at the less structured response. A simple 'um' and responsive tone that ended like a question was a nice break from the terse, military responses she was getting. A smile crept across her face.

"Ma'am...forgive my asking. Is there a reason to your questioning?"

Hera tried to think of how best to respond that wouldn't make it sound as if she was prying too much or showing too much concern. Either of which may have affected what little conversation they were having.

"Well, as your superior and as someone in charge of your training and success in the program, I just wanted to know where your mind set is at. I want to understand what to expect of you, and what was...corrected."

"Understood," the girl said, buying into the Twi'lek's response.

"I can't reveal too much, Captain."

"I understand. You have your orders and I'm not asking you to disobey them."

The girl nodded with acceptance.

"All I can tell you is that I was admitted into a program that catered to areas where they felt was the cause for my failure, and they helped me to correct them."

"Hm," she said, not fully satisfied with the cyclicle answers she was receiving. "So the program is typically about a month long?"

The girl's eye's fell, seemingly out of embarrassment.

"I...I was a slow learner..."

"I see..."

"But, you need not worry ma'am. I've been approved for release based on my results. I won't fail again," she said suddenly.

Realizing that she wasn't going to get anywhere, she just let things be. It was just the first day back after all and she hoped that things would change over the course of their training.

"Okay, Sabine. Thank you for the reassurance."


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, they began their training. Before Sabine had been taken away, they were in the middle of phase two, which entailed getting comfortable with using each other's abilities under stressful situations. Picking up from there, Hera had created an agenda of what they needed to work on. The first thing on their schedule, was a simulated exercise on the ground.

Hera was pacing quickly to get to the training room. She wasn't late, but wanted to keep on schedule. Much to her surprise, Sabine was already there, geared up and ready to go.

"Ensign?" she said, somewhat surprised.

"Captain," she greeted. "I decided to come early and run through some practice runs before our training session," she explained.

"I see."

"I'm ready whenever you are, ma'am."

Hera nodded and got suited up, then both entered the test chamber. The space was large. The walls surrounding them were nothing but the dreary color of durasteel, and the floors were bright white. Cubes formed from the chamber floor were manipulated to act as obstacles for their particular exercise. The goal of this activity, was to force their way into the opposing building and take out the leader. In general, scenarios such as this were presented as normal training routines to enhance their abilities to perform well in these kinds of environments. They were pilots, first and foremost, but, they had to be soldiers as well, capable of holding their own, outside of a ship.

They both put on their helmets and took up their weapons of choice. The Ensign held two pistols, while Hera held one. Both felt that rifles were a little too obstructive to their movements, and found that pistols allowed them to move freer.

"Alright Ensign, ready?"

"Ready and able, ma'am."

At that, the program was initiated. Primitive droids acted as the opposing party, firing unharmful blaster rays towards the pair. From within their helmets, the environment had been transformed to look more realistic. The surroundings were no longer made up of cubes, tiles and bland colors of white and gray. Instead, there were rock formations, littered debris, vehicles, buildings and even rays of the sun. The droids were masked to look like actual beings, such as humans and other sentients. All was done to make it as realistic as possible to enhance the overall experience.

The two worked in tandem, eliminating their opponents and making strategic advances. Sabine had made use of both her blaster fire and supplemental explosives, things Hera had found the girl to be very efficient with. Slowly, the two crept closer and closer to the building's entrance, taking out everyone and everything that stood in the way. Eventually, they made their way inside, navigating through the darkness of their surroundings to find their primary target. At some point, both had been taken by surprise when several opposing figures grabbed them from behind. Through the use of acrobatic type movements and fighting techniques, combined with a few punches and kicks, they managed to use their surroundings to their advantage and free themselves, while incapacitating their supposed capturers. They continued through until they were confronted by their target. The man was flanked on all sides by his men. Some were armed with rifles, others with blades. They were outnumbered, and they were slowly closing in.

"Captain, I have an idea," the girl commed over. "Follow my lead."

The girl quickly threw smoke bombs in several directions, allowing them to move about.

"Use the heat signature tracking on the gear. We can take them out one by one," Sabine communicated.

"Roger that."

Through a series of carefully made attacks, the two had eventually taken out all the opposing forces and captured their target. Once the program ended, they took a quick breather.

"Good call, Ensign," Hera complimented.

"Thank you, Captain."

Hera had never doubted the girl's ability to navigate a battlefield, or find her way through some tough situations when it came to ground forces. She was able to fight like a soldier and quick to think on her feet. Majority of it, she attributed to the girl's early training by her people on Mandalore.

"Shall we go again?"

"Ready and able, Captain."

For the next hour, the pair completed two more missions, with each growing in difficulty. They managed to survive the first, but failed in the second. Both Sabine and Hera had been gunned down.

"Apologies, Captain. I underestimated the forces that were flanking us."

"It's alright, Ensign. We've run through a few scenarios this morning and exhaustion could've played a role."

"Yes ma'am," she said, but her response continued to sound disappointed, and Hera had an inkling why.

In the last scenario, they were infiltrating a rebel camp. Their tents were scattered about, covering a large area in the desert. They were to take out the leader. However, as they had forced their way through, they realized that not only were there rebel operatives, but there were others. Others that looked like regular civilians. There were elderly folk, children and families. They didn't realize they were there, until much later.

The two were enacting upon the same plan of attack they had been trained with. Eliminate all opponents as quickly as possible, and, they were. Up until their path was hindered by a group of individuals. A family it seemed. Both the Ensign and the Captain were stunned at first to see them there. Hera knew what needed to be done. It was unfortunate, but necessary. However, she was curious to see what her young trainee would do. She watched as the girl eyed her targets, both her pistols aimed at two of the individuals. The girl instantly killed an elderly man, then another man, then her sights focused forward. A woman and her two children. Hera could see the hesitation in the girl's decision. It was the same back then too. However, she saw that the girl had made a decision to follow through with her objective. But, before she could pull the trigger, they were taken out from behind.

Hera watched now, as the girl seemed to battle with her choice and the way she reacted. The girl's hands clenched onto her blasters and her head laid low, staring into the ground.

"Ensign, don't think too much about it. It was our third exercise of the day. We can't expect to be at our peak performance after so much."

"Captain, it was my hesitation that caused us to fail," she admitted willingly.

"Perhaps," she acknowledged, knowing the truth of it all, but not pushing it. "Whether you think so or not, I'm assuming you've learned from this mistake."

"Yes ma'am," she nodded furiously, her eyes still set on the ground, and still squeezing the handles of her blasters. "Captain," she called out cautiously. "Will you...will you report my failure?" she questioned with fear.

"No, Sabine. I will not."

"Thank you."

In that one interaction, Hera had gotten more insight about the girl's situation than she had the day prior. Now, she realized, that it wasn't just civilians that the girl had problems dealing with. It was always with a woman and her children. Hera also came to conclude that that was probably what the re-educational program focused on. She did notice that the girl had eventually come to the conclusion to terminate them, so part of the training worked, but clearly, the Ensign still struggled with it.  


* * *

  
Once they had rested, they continued on with their training. After that, they completed some simulated flight missions, to which neither had any problems finishing. Now, with a well-deserved lunch break, Hera thought it would be the best time to approach the subject once more.

"Sabine."

The girl looked up at Hera as she swallowed her food, finally appearing more comfortable with her commanding officer's use of her first name.

"Yes Captain?"

"I'm curious. Tell me more about your training back on Mandalore. You continuously impress me when you handle opponents on the ground. I'd like to know more."

The girl stared at her food, as if deep in thought. It was while before she spoke.

"I...I was trained by my clan...We...they started training us the minute we could properly hold a weapon."

"Interesting. And at what age would you say was it that you started?"

"I...um...not sure. Maybe...five?"

"Five. That is pretty young," Hera commented. "Your parents must've been proud."

Sabine fell silent and the girl fell deeper into thought as her brows furrowed.

"Your parents. They were Mandalorian warriors as well I presume."

The girl continued to remain silent, giving Hera cause for concern.

"Sabine? Is...is everything alright?"

Snapping to, she looked up at the Captain, her eyes were slightly watery.

"Ma'am, may I be excused?"

"Of course. Is everything alright?"

"Yes. I...I feel a bit light-headed."

"Do you need to go to the sick bay?"

"No ma'am. I'm...I'm fine. I'm just going to go lay down for a bit, if that's alright."

"You may go."

"Thank you, Captain."

Hera found the exchange quite odd, but now, she was even closer to understanding the girl's situation, or so she assumed. At the very least, she believed that the girl's hesitation rooted back to her own parents. It was a guess, but it was the closest thing she could come up with.

The rest of the day had gone by without further training. The girl didn't seem ready at all to continue, and Hera didn't press for it. It wasn't until towards that evening, that she was summoned into the General's office.

"Captain, how is young Wren handling since her return?"

Hera contemplated about her response. Eventually she told him that she was very pleased with her progress and her determined attitude. She saw no problems, and overall, was impressed at how well they had been working together.

"Good. So no complications?"

"None, sir."

"Very well. I would like to go over one thing then. I have a record here of the sessions you both completed today. I noticed there was one failed mission."

"Yes sir, we had been running through a few other missions prior to, and believe that our exhaustion played a part in our failure."

"Hmmm," he hummed skeptically. "Though, I do believe you may be partially correct, I believe there is another reason."

"Sir?"

"I replayed your mission, as captured by our system. I noticed something...in the Ensign's behavior that may ultimately be the reason. In reviewing both your actions, I have a feeling you do as well."

"Sir, I...I have an idea, but...I don't know for sure."

"Indeed. It seems that the Ensign is still in need of further education," he said as he thought about the idea.

"General," Hera said, calling for his attention. "I'd like to know more about Ensign Wren's...background, and the...re-education program she was put through."

"Captain, what you're asking for is more than what you should know for this program."

"I humbly disagree, sir. For two individuals to work cohesively, I feel that it is necessary to understand their full strengths and weaknesses, sir."

The man smiled at Hera's reasoning.

"And this is why you will make it far into our ranks, Captain. You have a keen eye for detail, not afraid to pursue things of question, and have a knack for manipulating a conversation to do so," he scoffed with amusement. "Very well. I will reward you for your efforts and provide to you the knowledge that you seek. However, this is highly classified information, and none of this is to be spoken about to anyone other than myself. I will inform Ensign Wren of what you know, but even her knowledge is limited, so I urge you to use caution when approaching her regarding anything related to what I am about to tell you. Clear?"

"Clear, sir."

"Good. Failure to comply will result in your own termination, Captain, so understand this well."

The General then spent some time, explaining everything, starting from the girl's personal background. From what Hera was told, Sabine was born on Krownest to her Mandalorian parents, both strong warriors in their clan. At the time, the Empire had taken an interest in harvesting soldiers from Mandalore. Their culture raised them as such, with the mentality of being one as they grew older. It was an easy decision for the Empire to convince the clans that, as part of the Empire, their duty is to serve, in order to protect their homeworld from others, such as rebels or other terrorists. Normally, a faction like that would oppose such an idea, but Mandalore was already held under the Empire's rule, so it was difficult to disagree. And so it came to be that Mandalorian children would continue to be raised by their parents until a certain age, when they are required to be enrolled into the Academy. From there, many continue to become part of the Imperial forces. Those that fail were expelled from the Academy and returned to their clans. Those who excelled, apart from the masses however, were hand selected and directed into other educational paths, leading to them to join elite forces. Sabine Wren was one these students.

"That explains a lot. Thank you sir. But...what is the correlation to her parents. Why is the Ensign having such a difficult time with certain...familial situations?"

"Ensign Wren is a special case, in many aspects. Her...parents had been found for treason against the Empire. It appears they were found guilty of a conspiracy to start a war between the Mandalorian clans and us. Luckily, young Wren was already in our custody. However, to prevent any future issues that resulted from her digging up the past and preventing her from moving forward, or using what she's learned against us, her...her mind had been wiped of all memories of her parents and...most of her past."

Hera had been shocked to hear that bit of information. In a way, she found it cruel, more so than terminating someone. She felt that doing something like that, would leave only a shell of a person, destroying their humanity, and having them live that way, for as long as they are able. She was also surprised to hear about the Empire's ability to actually succeed in wiping out memories. She's heard rumors, but never came across anyone or anything that could confirm it.

"That...explains everything..."

"Indeed. Which is why we spent more time with her during the re-education process. When she had failed your mission over a month ago, I realized that part of the girl's memory had manifested into mental visions, capable of disrupting her train of thought. We needed to resolve that."

"So...the disciplinary action..."

"Was simply re-education. The methods employed....I cannot go into detail. But what you can know is that forceful measures had been taken to...straighten out the girl's thinking. They couldn't isolate and wipe the actual memory, because there was none. What the girl hesitated on, was her own feelings towards the idea of family. So, she had to endure sessions to correct that kind of thinking. After a month of that, we would've thought we'd be successful. Her results showed promise. However, after this morning's results, I wonder if..."

"Sir, I...I assure you that I will work with the Ensign directly to face her thoughts, if that is the problem."

After hearing the full story, Hera had begun to feel sorry for the girl and what she had been through. And, even if she didn't know exactly how the program tried to "teach her" to handle her thoughts, she got a feeling their methods were quite invasive. Rather than having the girl put through more, which Hera now realized is why the girl appeared to be fearful for being reported on her failure, the Captain decided to take it upon herself to work with her.

"Captain. I am putting my trust in you once more. I'll allow you to handle Ensign Wren's issues, but if starts to pose a problem, we _will_ send her back. The entirety of Wren's career with the Empire for the most part, has been experimental. Everything she had been through, everything she had been a part of, had been carefully curated by us. She will make a fine soldier for the Empire, and we are willing to put much of our resources into it. Wren's success will lay out the foundation for us to generate more effective soldiers to join across our ranks. Much of what I told you, must remain secret. Wren cannot be told about any of this. Instead, I will allow her to confide in you and let you know what she is willing to tell you. Let her guide the conversations to prevent any accidental slip-ups of anything regarding what we've discussed. Clear?"

"Crystal, sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this was the last part I had written for this storyline. It wasn't meant to make it this far even :)
> 
> But...now I have to take some time to figure out how this story will go and how it will end. Might take some bit before I'm inspired. I don't like to leave stories open, so there will be some closure to this work. It'll just take a bit, so hang tight.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who've kept reading this far :D
> 
> Also, let me know your thoughts. Maybe it'll spark some ideas in my head ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Also, Shameless plug. Follow me on [Tumblr](https://dreamsescapeus.tumblr.com) for other content!


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